Come, Wills of Fire
by valkyriefyre79
Summary: Characters from Star Wars, Fairy Tail, Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist, and my own creation, Raging Fire, come together to fight their combined enemies. This story is just a way for me to have an excuse to put all my favorite characters together. After all, who doesn't want to have their own dream team?
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Star Wars, Fairy Tail, Bleach, or Fullmetal Alchemist. I do, however, own my own story and characters, Raging Fire. If you are interested in this, look at my profile on Wattpad, under valkyriefyre79.**

 **Slight character overviews, for those who might not know some of these stories:**

 **Ben Skywalker- The son of Luke and Mara Skywalker, Ben is an extremely talented Force-user, made a Jedi Knight at the age of 14, and is known for his sharp tongue. As an effect of the Yuuzhan Vong war, Ben withdrew from the Force for the first five years of his life before his cousin, Jacen Solo, took him as an apprentice. He played several crucial parts in the Second Galactic Civil War, during which his mother, Mara, was killed, and Jacen became a Sith. He later joined his father in temporary exile and met a tribe of lost Sith, one of which was a girl named Vestara Khai, who falls in love with him and tries to be a Jedi, but in the end, her Sith heritage wins out. Ben is currently hunting her.**

 **Natsu Dragneel- Natsu is a Fire Dragon Slayer and a part of the wizard guild Fairy Tail. He was raised by the Fire Dragon Igneel, who disappeared without a trace one day. Natsu will do anything to see Igneel again, but he also has formed strong bonds in his guild, and has been a major (or maybe I should just say main) character in Fairy Tail's story. In this story, they have just finished recovering from the Infinity Clock incident.**

 **Ichigo Kurosaki- He has been able to see ghosts his whole life. When a fallen ghost, called a Hollow, tries to eat his family's souls, he absorbs the power of injured Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki, becoming a Soul Reaper himself. I have only gotten so far into the show, so in this story, Rukia hasn't been imprisoned yet.**

 **Edward Elric- When Edward and his brother Alphonse's mother died, they decided to use forbidden human alchemy to bring her back. Only, instead of bringing her back, Al looses his body and Ed loses his leg. Ed also looses his arm when he sacrifices it to bind Al's soul to an armor set. Ed is then outfitted with mechanical prosthetics called automail, and the brothers go on a search for the Philosopher's Stone, in an attempt to get Al's original body and Ed's arm and leg back. Along the way, they get caught up in a conspiracy to use the lives of the citizens of Amestris to make an insane figure called Father a god. In the end, Ed ends up sacrificing his gift of alchemy to restore his brother's body and his arm to normal, but his leg is still automail.**

 **Kajin Flane- This is a character of my own creation from my novel-in-progress Raging Fire. Given the personalities of the other characters I am including, I just had to use him. Basically, my book happens 16 years after Earth is mysteriously destroyed. Kajin grew up in a society of hive-minded aliens called the Salanese, and because of this, he sometimes has trouble speaking English, or Common, as I refer to it. He and four other kids find out that they are the "chosen ones", called the Sourcebearers, who will bring about the defeat of the light (that's the big twist in my story. The roles of light and dark are reversed) and possibly restore humanity's home. They become a part of a secret order called the Azkiar, and bond with spirits called Iri, allowing them certain powers. Kajin's is fire. He can also come up with blueprints on the spot in his head and build them, if he has the materials. His Iri is a dragon named Ember. Any other details about him and the Azkiar will appear later in the story.**

Ben Skywalker woke up in a blinding white oblivion.

For a second, he wondered if he was blind, but the Force was telling him that his eyes weren't deceiving him.

His feeling was confirmed when a boy with bright red hair suddenly appeared five feet away from him.

They stared at each other, both equally perplexed and confused. Out of habit, Ben checked that his lightsaber was still there, and widened his sensory range. The invisible sphere of his Force sensory expanded and passed over the other boy, who was studying Ben with a practiced eye. And then he got his second surprise (or third, who really cares anyway?).

This boy didn't exist in the Force!

At the exact moment he realized this, the other boy seemed to make a decision and stepped back into a strange fighting stance, with both hands held by his sides, where a blaster would normally hang on his hip. Only, this boy didn't have any guns. At least, none that Ben could see.

"Who are you?" Ben asked, hand slowly moving down to his lightsaber. "Are you aligned with the Yuuzhan Vong?"

"I should be asking who you are. And what's a Yuuzhan Vong?" The boy said, raising his head a little, and Ben finally got a look at his face. But it wasn't his facial features that caught Ben's attention. It was his eyes.

They were flame red.

In other words, this guy couldn't possibly be human.

And he didn't know who the Yuuzhan Vong were. Everybody knew who they were. The Jedi were particularly interested in them, because, like the boy in front of him, they didn't exist in the Force.

Ben made a snap decision and stepped back into his own stance and ignited his lightsaber, all in one smooth motion, almost too quick for the eye to follow. "You had better tell me who you are or-"

"Oh, come on! Not again!"

Ben and the boy looked around, almost in perfect sync, when a new voice entered the fray. Over to the side was a short boy with blond hair tied back in a braid, standing with a completely shocked expression that dissolved into a grimace. He started to look around, anger written all over his face. "Where are you and your gate? I thought you said I was done with this alchemy stuff!"

Ben raised an eyebrow. _Alchemy_?

The other red-haired boy looked just as puzzled. "And you are...?"

The blond-haired boy took notice of them and scowled. "So you were dragged into this, too?"

"Huh. Guess I'm not alone."

This voice came from behind him. Whirling around, Ben found another boy, this one with orange hair, carrying a ridiculously large sword. The first redhead opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by someone yelling, and a boy with pink (seriously, pink?) hair popped into existence.

The last arrival looked around, anger evident in his eyes. "Hey! Where am I? This had better not be a trick, cause if it is-"

"Hmm. Well, this is certainly a group of fiery personalities."

This voice didn't come from anywhere, but was all around. Again, Ben stretched out in the Force, but nothing was there. The other boys looked just as confused as he was, except for the pink-haired guy. He just managed to look angrier.

"Who's there?!" the he yelled, looking around furiously, not the least concerned with the fact that there were four other guys right in front of him.

"Oh, I don't think you need to know that, Salamander. Also, Fullmetal, before you ask, this is not the Gateway of Truth. This is somewhere else entirely. Well, that's not entirely accurate. I guess you could call this place nowhere."

The blonde looked taken aback, and his mouth closed before he said anything, while Pinky, or Salamander, or whatever, just seemed to get even angrier, if that was possible. Seriously, what was the guy's problem? Had he never heard of anger management?

But then again, Ben was starting to feel like exploding, too. So much for the Jedi philosophy; _There is no emotion, there is peace_. Yeah, right. How in the nine Corellian Hells was he supposed to keep his emotions in check when he had no clue to what was going on? It was like traveling with his dad all over again. One minute you think you have it all figured out, the next, you find out there's some big, impenetrable plan that Luke somehow came up with in his sleep, and it's back to trying to figure out what the endgame was. Honestly, there were too many times in his memory where his father hadn't even bothered to share his insights or let him in on the plan for Ben's taste.

The voice continued. "You all have so many questions. Yes, Soul Reaper, you are in your ghost form. However, for everyone's convenience, I have made you visible to everyone here."

The guy with the sword, who hadn't said anything, looked so shocked that Ben might have thought he was brain-dead.

"You, Sourcebearer, appear to be having trouble hearing your Iri. Don't worry, the effect is only temporary."

The first redhead managed to look angry and worried at the same time.

At that moment, Ben finally felt the hint of a presence. Only, instead of being concentrated in one spot like any normal being, it was everywhere. From this faint brush, he could tell that the only reason he could sense it was because the presence wanted him to understand the scope of the being communicating with them. It was Ben's turn to stare blankly ahead like his world had just gone crazy.

"And finally, to answer that one question you all seem to have on your mind: yes , I can hear your thoughts. Now then, on to business."

Ben had decided to refer to everybody by whatever the voice called them. Salamander still looked like he wanted to fight. However, after a brief struggle with himself, he growled and relaxed slightly. Fullmetal looked resigned, like he had done this before, and Soul Reaper suddenly looked self-conscious for some reason. Had it finally dawned on him that the size of his sword was completely ridiculous? And Sourcebearer had abandoned his anger in place for a neutral expression, though the worry was evident in his eyes.

"I will leave you to decide if you want to reveal your names to each other or not. All that matters to me is that you understand your mission."

That caught Ben's attention. He immediately found himself remembering the reports he read about when his grandfather, his Padawan, and Obi-Wan Kenobi encountered the Mortis Monolith and the god-like Force-beings that used to reside there. They had expected great things o Anakin Skywalker, and because of it, they all ended up dead.

"Simply put, one of each of your enemies have been banded together by an unknown character. And now that I have shared this information, I also know that four of you are thinking that you can handle this on your own. I can tell you right now that you are wrong. Each one of these enemies has aligned themselves to one another, and can always call on them for help. Unless you work together, you won't stand a chance."

Ben found himself exchanging glances with the other boys around him. Even though they were on shaky ground, now that they had calmed down, he could tell that each one of these guys had gone through some hard stuff. He could tell, because they had the same eyes as him.

"Also, you may as well know that you are all from separate universes. Therefore, your abilities are all different, as well as your culture and way of doing things. Because of this, I realize you might not see eye to eye. But you were all chosen for a reason. You all, at some point, have recognized the greater good. That being said, I believe it is time to deploy you on your first mission. Do try to work together, and I might as well ask three of you to avoid property damage, pointless as it may be."

Abruptly, before Ben had time to process any of this, the gleaming white turned into endless black, and suddenly, he was standing on a frozen wasteland, smooth snow stretching in every direction, and mountains rising in the distance. But his mind was in too much turmoil to notice this.

 _Other universes? How is that even possible?_

He then realized that he was shivering uncontrollably, and the fact that he was knee-deep in snow, without any protection besides his Jedi tunic, made for warm, climate controlled worlds.

He heard a small pop, and the other four "chosen ones" appeared around him. Soul Reaper, Salamander, and Sourcebearer all appeared unaffected by the cold, while Fullmetal was shivering just as much as Ben was.

"W-W-Where are we?" Fullmetal said through chattering teeth, arms wrapped tightly around himself.

"W-Why would that voice drop us in the middle of a wasteland with no protection if we're supposed to be saving the universe?" Ben said, trying hard not to look as cold as he felt. "I mean, what's the point if we freeze to death?"

The other three just shrugged, looking completely comfortable in the climate. As a matter of fact, Ben could swear that Sourcebearer and Salamander were steaming. How was that even possible? Then he realized how many times he had thought that already, and mentally slapped himself. When was he going to learn that in his crazy life, anything could happen?

"So," Soul Reaper said, hand held to his brow as he looked over the landscape. "Should we bother with introductions?"

"Well if we're going to be working together, it would be kinda bothersome to refer to each other by stupid nicknames." Sourcebearer said, attention seemingly diverted inward. "I'll just break the ice and get it over with. I'm Kajin Flane, Azkiar Guardian, not that you'd know what that means."

"W-Well, my name is Edward Elric, State Alchemist." Fullmetal said, looking like he wished he was anywhere but wherever they were.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, Soul Reaper." He said, attention still on the horizon.

"I'm Natsu Dragneel. I'm a member of the wizard guild Fairy Tail." Salamander said, looking rather proud of himself.

Ben shrugged and got it over with. "Ben Skywalker, Jedi Knight."

Ichigo finally looked away from the horizon and gazed steadily at everyone else. "So does anyone have any guesses to where we are?"

Natsu suddenly stiffened and raised his head, looking like he was sniffing the air. It took Ben a moment to realize that he was. Natsu opened his mouth, about to say something, when Ben heard it.

The sound of speeder engines.

He whirled in the same direction Natsu had been facing and saw the tell-tale clouds of ice caused by the passing of a repulsion-driven vehicle. He started to yell, "Get down!", when the sound of blasters echoed over the valley, and he felt the familiar sting of a stun bolt.

As he fell into the snow, he saw the others get caught by the same weapons. Natsu tried resisting, but willpower wasn't enough to override the shock. Ben was aware of the speeders stopping, and caught a glimpse of blue skinned aliens before his eyes closed. He had enough time to think _Chiss_ before he lost consciousness completely.


	2. Chapter 2

**Great news! I finished the first three seasons of Bleach! Now I can include some of the cool stuff I didn't even know Ichigo could do till now!**

Ichigo watched as the strange blue-skinned people took the others and loaded them onto the hovercraft, if that was even what it was. Apparently, only the other four guys could see him. At least he still had that.

He considered going after them, but before he got the chance, a small mound of snow moved near him. He immediately froze (as in stopped moving, not turned into an icicle, though that was a possibility). With that one action, Ichigo missed his window and the vehicles moved off, almost faster than he could follow.

The mound moved again, and Ichigo fixed his eyes on it. Then, it practically exploded, revealing a fluffy lion plush toy. And this particular toy had an attitude.

However, today it was strangely silent.

Ichigo walked over and lifted it by the arm. "Guess I should have figured you'd come up with a way to follow me, Kon. Come on, why so silent? Finally decided to act like a real toy?"

He spun the toy around and stood up, watching the mystery vehicles disappear into the distance. He noticed that they left slightly disturbed rivets of snow in their wake. He was about to start following them when the toy lurched in his hands, and an annoying but familiar voice started yelling.

"Ichigo! Why did you have to spin me? I'm miserable enough as it is! I mean, seriously, whoever decided to drop me in a frozen wasteland is going to be beaten to a pulp when I find them!"

Ichigo tossed the toy, Kon, into the air and caught him by the head. "Shut up! In case you haven't noticed, I'm in the same situation as you, and I'm not whining!"

"Yeah, but you can't feel cold!"

Ichigo sighed and set Kon down, who was so light he hardly broke the surface of the snow. "That may be true, but you shouldn't be able to feel it, either. Now, where is my body?"

Kon shuffled his feet and attempted a smile. "Well, when those weird blue-skinned guys took off with those other guys, they saw me, or you, or whatever, lying there. So they dragged it off."

"But weren't you inside?"

"Yeah, well, you see, I didn't think it would be good for my health to stick around..."

At this point, Ichigo lost what was left of his patience. "So you're saying, you chickened out, and now we have almost NO IDEA WHERE THEY TOOK IT?! OR THE OTHERS?!"

Kon cowered. "Uh, yeah, that basically sums it up..."

"IDIOT!"

Ichigo and Kon followed the ripples left by the vehicles until they found themselves on a bluff overlooking a strange city. Half enclosed, half exposed, it was all cold steel and metal, aircraft that didn't even look aerodynamic somehow flying upwards and disappearing into the clouds.

Without a word, Ichigo ran into the city, Kon riding on his back. Ichigo would gave preferred to leave the toy behind, but Kon had gotten him out of a couple of tough spots before. When Ichigo's soul left his body to be a Soul Reaper, his body would be completely non-functional. Kon was a Mon Soul, and could be moved from his current body into another. Kon could possess all of Ichigo's traits when he wanted to, so by transferring himself into Ichigo's body, they could keep suspicion away from them, and make sure Ichigo kept his grades up in school, while in truth he was killing Hollows. So getting rid of Kon, tempting as it was, wasn't a possibility.

Contrary to what was said before, Ichigo could feel cold. It just didn't effect him. So he could tell people lived here by the fact that the moment he stepped onto a street, he was pillowed by warm air. However, the paths were strangely empty.

As he headed farther into the city, the warm air became constant, and he finally began to get glimpses of life. A security guard here, a military officer there, nothing more. By now, he was in the enclosed area, but life was still sparse.

After what felt like hours of searching, Ichigo was starting to feel like giving up, when Kon tapped his shin (that was about as far as he could reach) and wordlessly pointed down one of the streets.

Turning, they caught sight of vehicles just like the ones that attacked them, stopping in front of a large door at a nearby building. The vehicles hovered for a moment, and then the door began to open, two heavy metal slabs pulling slowly apart.

Ichigo didn't even stop and think, he just grabbed Kon and ran straight through the doors, invisible to anyone who might have been watching.

Once inside, however, he stopped in his tracks, his eyes growing as wide as moons.

"Whoa," he breathed, completely awed by what he saw.

It was like something out of a science fiction movie, all gleaming white walls and floors, not a spot of grime anywhere to be seen. The dull gray hovercraft looked out of place in this white space.

And even better, there were even more of the vehicles in here, rows of them, with blue people walking around almost everywhere. He had finally found where all the population was.

Ichigo chose the most direct path from there: he ran into the first hallway he found.

Once again, he thanked the fact that in his Soul Reaper form, he was invisible, otherwise he never would have made it through there. Compared to the city outside, this place was like a beehive. People came and went, each with a no-nonsense looked on their face, concentrating on individual tasks that all fit together. Ichigo found himself drawn to their eyes, a single red mass, with no pupil or iris.

 _Who are these people?_ , he wondered.

It wasn't long before he found his body. They had it in what resembled a surgical room, with strange sticker-like things attached to his chest and forehead. The machines beside the bed were basic enough, one of them reading what was obviously a heartbeat. However, the "doctors" seemed more concerned about the other machine, which wasn't reading anything at all.

"Hey, Ichigo!" Kon whispered, tugging on his pants and pointing farther down the hall.

And there, lined up farther down the hall, was four other occupied rooms. Only, instead of medical personal and equipment, these were built as prisons. And each one of them held one of the other boys.

Natsu and Kajin were unconscious, but Edward was awake and angry. Ichigo was almost glad that the glass was apparently soundproof, because he could bet that whatever the alchemist was saying, it wasn't nice. Ben was simply sitting cross-legged in the middle of the cell, staring into the distance.

Ichigo decided to take his chances and approached Ben's cell. "Hey, ginger, you awake in there?"

If he was hoping for a startled expression, he didn't get one. Ben's gaze simply sharpened as his head moved fractionally to look at Ichigo. "Oh, you. Ichigo, wasn't it?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Who else would I be?"

Ben smiled ever so slightly at this, before peering quizzically into the hall beyond his cell, apparently puzzled by the lack of attention Ichigo was receiving from the blue skinned people. "Are you invisible or something?"

"Or something, and lets just leave it at that for now. From what I understand, each of us uses some kind of special skills, right? Do ya mind letting me in on the secret?"

Ben crossed his arms. "As a Jedi, I have access to the Force, which is something I can explain later. But I basically have access to telekinetic and empathy, I can sense the living beings around us and influence the weak-minded, and occasionally I get visions, not that that would help much. Unfortunately, these people, the Chiss, know I'm a Jedi." He held up his wrists, displaying thin metal bands. "As long as I'm wearing these, I'm powerless."

Ichigo scratched his head. "So you know who these guys are?"

Ben nodded. "The Chiss are a highly militarized race and controls a large portion of the Unknown Regions of the galaxy. They're well known for not being friendly to strangers, though altogether not a bad species themselves."

Ichigo had to process what Ben had just said. "Hang on. You mean in your universe you have space travel?"

Ben looked slightly shocked, but not too surprised. "You don't?"

"It's still only a theory for us. Anyways, you know their race. So how much do you know about their technology?"

He shrugged. "It's basically all the same principles as what we use in the Galactic Alliance."

"In other words, yes." Ichigo said, thinking hard. "So you would know what wires need to be cut and which don't?"

"I guess." Ben said, standing and stretching, making Ichigo wonder how long he had been sitting there. "You have an idea?"

"Something like that." Ichigo reached behind him and drew his sword. "Just tell me what I should cut and what I shouldn't. We need to sabotage it just enough so that you can unlock it from the inside. When I'm done with yours, I can do the other guys. Sound good?"

"Better than nothing" Ben said, then turned and walked towards the slab that served as a bed in the cell, stretching and yawning, his actions completely at odds with his eyes, which were watching every corner of the cell. "Alright, here's what you need to do..."


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow! I had no idea my chapters would be so long! I'm enjoying this story so much that I'm having a hard time forcing myself to stop for a while. Please review!**

Edward was angry. _Really_ angry.

But it really made sense, in a way.

He'd been through too much for his life to return to normal. He shouldn't have been so surprised when he found himself in a space almost exactly like the Gateway of Truth.

And now he was sitting in a strange building with strange people, both the blue-skins and the other guys, with absolutely no idea on what to do.

He could escape, if he wanted to. He could tell he had the ability to use alchemy again. The only problem was, he had no idea what he would do when he was free.

Why couldn't that voice drop them somewhere that he had been before?

He was so angry, he didn't notice the Soul Reaper standing outside his cell for the past five minutes until he cleared his throat in a very deliberate way, causing Ed to jump about two feet off the floor.

When he had recovered his composure, he noticed that his captors weren't even taking notice of Ichigo.

"Hey, are you invisible or something?"

Ichigo sighed and muttered something about answering that question already. "Have you been paying attention at all to what I've been doing out here?"

Ed opened his mouth to reply, but found he had no answer.

Ichigo sighed again. "I just sabotaged your cell so that it can be opened from the inside. I did the same thing to everyone else's."

Ed started pacing. "Yeah, but what's the point? It's not like we know where to go once we're free."

Ichigo smiled. "Actually, it turns out we landed somewhere in Ben's universe, so _he_ knows where we're going. Apparently, the people here have figured out how to space travel, and there are several billion other races out there. This race is called the Chiss. And I'd say he knows his way around pretty well, given that he knows exactly how these cells work."

Ed stopped and glared at Ichigo. "Then why haven't we gotten out of here yet?"

Ichigo leaned on the glass. "We have to wait for a guard change. I may be invisible, but you are not, and neither is my body."

Ed blinked. "Your body?"

"Never mind that now. So what does this alchemy of yours do?"

"Huh? Why do you need to know that?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Ben wants to know exactly what everyone can do. Apparently, he' s trying to decide what we can use to get out of here."

 _Evidently, this isn't the first time that guy has had to escape a prison_ , Ed thought. _He knows exactly what to do. And given the fact that Ichigo's going along with it, I'd say it's not his first time, either._

"Fine. Alchemy allows me to transmute anything I can touch, even change the elemental composition. In other words, I could build a wall here in a split second."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "So in other words, I really didn't need to sabotage your cell."

It was Ed's turn to shrug. "Not really, but it does make things easier."

The Soul Reaper opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by another voice. "Ichigo, they're all leaving!" A second later, a plush lion toy came running into Ed's view. "All the doctors and guards, they're leaving!"

"So soon?" Ichigo said, looking at the toy like he didn't believe him. "Are you sure about that, Kon?"

"Uh, sorry to break up the chat," Ed said. "But what is that?"

"Oh, Kon?" Ichigo said, looking back at the alchemist. "He's a Mod Soul. That's just the body he's inhabiting at the moment."

"You mean like a ghost?" Ed asked, intrigued.

"No, 'cause he's not a real soul. He was created, and never really had a body to begin with."

 _Still sounds like a ghost to me,_ Ed thought. He wondered what exactly Ichigo did on a day-to-day basis to make him talk about ghosts and souls like they were a common occurrence. But what really had him shaken was that Ichigo just said Kon's soul was created. According to the laws of alchemy, that was impossible!

"So, anyway, you might as well know that we're going to have to drag Kajin and Natsu out of here. Apparently, the Chiss decided they were better handled under sedatives. They're both taking a long walk through dreamland right now." Ichigo turned away, but not before Ed saw the corners of his mouth curve up in a small smile. _He's almost enjoying this_. "Better hurry and get out of there, 'cause I'd rather not wait for who knows how long for the next break."

He started walking towards one of the other cells, Ed couldn't see who's, Kon crawling onto his shoulder along the way. _One thing's for sure, this guy's possibly stranger than anyone else here. I mean, seriously, souls don't just occur on a daily basis, let alone get created. Makes me wonder just how crazy everything else in his world is._

Ed approached the door, clapped his hands together, and pressed gently on the transparent door. It shattered with no effort at all. A second later, he heard another door shatter, and looked over in time to see Ichigo place a now bandage-wrapped, over-sized sword on his back and stepping through a now pulverized doorway. This was contrasted by a door on Ed's other side sliding open, and Ben stepping out with hardly any noise at all.

Ben simply acknowledged Ed with a small bow of his head, before heading towards where Ichigo was dragging out the pink-haired boy, Natsu. Ed followed. "So I hear that your our ticket outa here, then?"

Ben shrugged. "Hopefully. It really depends on if Chiss starships have the same controls as Alliance ships. If we can get to a spaceport and out of the atmosphere, then I'll have a better idea of where we should go."

Ed had to admit, he was more than a little confused. But at the moment, he didn't have much choice in the matter, so he decided to go along with it for now. Ichigo drew his sword again (could it even still be called a sword, when it was as tall as the guy himself?), and smashed the last cell door.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey! I finally passed the part where Ichigo learns to control his inner Hollow! This opens up worlds of possibilities of where his part of the story could go! Also, to you Fairy Tail fans out there, sorry if you were expecting Natsu's point of view, but I just can't exactly "put myself in his shoes", so to speak. If you are also a big fan fiction writer, then you know that to make a good story about someone else's characters, you have to know that character, inside and out. And everyone who's seen Fairy Tail knows that nobody but Hiro Mashima knows what's going on in our favorite Dragon Slayer's head (besides the obvious stuff, you know, eating, sleeping, fighting). Hopefully by the next chapter, I'll have his role figured out. Until then, wish me luck!**

 **Because this is from my OC's point of view, I will try to include some explanations to his abilities and add some history about him and his friends, Soron, Jace, Ayden, and Airi (by the way, each has a separate title for the element they represent). And yes, Ember is his Iri's name.**

Kajin woke up to find himself draped over someone's shoulder in a rescuer's carry. He couldn't tell who it was, because everything in his field of vision was so blurry, there weren't even dull lines separating shapes. It was all just a swirling mass of dull colors. The only reason he could tell he wasn't still asleep was because all his other senses (besides hearing, that still seemed a little out-of-whack), were still working perfectly.

But what he was really relieved about was that he could hear (not really hear, just, you know, telepathically), his Iri's voice again. Even if said Iri was an extremely annoyed dragon who didn't care how much mental noise he made, throwing a fit about how Kajin had "abandoned" him in that strange white space. Despite being one of the most feared creatures in the galaxy and being bonded with someone who was responsible for the fate of the universe, Ember still acted like he had the mind of a seven-year-old, every time something went wrong, which was a lot.

Again, Kajin wondered if all Iri were like that, or if his was just unique. And his friends didn't exactly work for comparison, because they were all supposed to be as special as he was. Soron and his Iri were exactly the same: quiet, sneaky, and deadly serious, emphasis on _deadly_. Jace and his Iri were the best of friends and couldn't wait for their next opportunity to fly through the clouds like nothing else mattered, while Ayden had a lot of fun pulling his out on perfectly timed moments to complete some prank he came up with. And Airi and her Iri were polar opposites, though they seemed to get along fine. Then again, Airi got along with everyone. Why should a large, lethal, feline predator be any different? And he had to admit, despite all those unsettling, perfect assassin traits, Soron's mind was probably chaos. He really was unique, being the only person in history to summon two Iri. But with two Iri came double the trouble. Kajin really didn't want to know what a day in that guy's head was like.

His vision finally started to clear, and he saw that the guy carrying him was wearing long, billowy black pants and sandals made out of some kind of straw or dried stem. _So I got rescued by a Soul Reaper,_ he thought drowsily. _I bet Ayden could come up with a good joke about that, if he was here._ It was exactly the kind of thing the Windbrearer would do.

Kajin blinked rapidly, attempting to clear his vision. Then he tensed as he wondered if his captors had gotten a glimpse at his eyes.

 ** _Relax_** **.** Ember's grating voice rose from his subconscious, irritatingly calm again. How Ember went from immature to all-knowing just like that was beyond Kajin . _**The people here aren't aware of their significance.**_

His muscles relaxed again. He was too used to war. Back in his universe, the red color of his eyes identified him as a part of the Azkiar's Fire Caste, and therefore made him a target for the Illusi, the Azkiar's eternal enemies. He made a point of carrying eye tint with him whenever he left the sanctuary of the alternate dimension that the Azkiar were based in. And besides war, how many people had red eyes, anyway?

"You're finally awake. Can you run, or are you still a bit groggy?"

Kajin craned his head around to look up at the back of Ichigo's head. "So you felt that?"

Ichigo's shrug was miniscule. "I could ask what's got you so worked up, but I get the feeling it doesn't really matter. Anyways, can you run or not? I'd rather not have to carry you if I have to."

Kajin closed his eyes and tried to get an idea what condition his body was in. It all felt all right. His feeling was confirmed by a purr/growl from Ember.

 _All right, then_. "Put me down. I can run."

Ichigo stopped long enough for Kajin to slide gracelessly off his shoulder and helped him up, before taking off running down the long hallway, chasing after Ben, who was carrying Natsu, and Edward. Kajin gave a small shake of his head, wishing he was more alert, and ran after them.

Ember, meanwhile, was doing the mental equivalent of a cat stretched out in the sun. **_How did we end up here, anyway?_**

 _You can always look back through my memories,_ Kajin replied.

 _ **I don't feel like it**_ , Ember yawned. Even though it was all mental, Kajin was still able to produce an image of the dragon's toothy maw, scarlet eyes glinting with dangerous intelligence.

 _Whatever,_ Kajin thought, waving away Ember's laziness. _Just make yourself useful for once and tell me what you think of these other guys._

Ember seemed to think for a moment, before replying. **_You should stay near the Jedi, Ben. He knows where he is going here, and he seems like a trustworthy boy. The Alchemist Edward has had a rather torturous experience, but he is clever and powerful. Natsu, however, should not be trusted near anything flammable, and seems to have limited brainpower. He kind of reminds me of you._**

 _Huh? How so?_

 ** _Oh, I don't know. You both use fire, but besides that, you also have destructive tendencies, can only think so far ahead, and charge headfirst into trouble on a daily basis. In other words, you're both idiots._**

 _Hey!_

Kajin was broken out of his internal argument by Ichigo, who had come to a stop without warning right in front of him, almost resulting in a collision.

Ember snorted. **_What's his problem?_**

 _Just shut up already, will you?_

Kajin didn't think he was short. In fact, he knew he was taller than most humans. But Ichigo towered over him by at least six inches, and for once Kajin had to step around someone to see what was happening.

What was happening wasn't good.

In front of them stood a line of helmeted soldiers, each holding a gun of a sort Kajin had never seen and aiming it at the escapees. Ben had handed Natsu off to Edward, who looked like he was struggling under the weight of the bigger boy, though Kajin could tell he would never admit it. The Jedi was standing between them and the soldiers, practically staring them down. Ichigo whistled under his breath, so softly that Kajin hardly heard it. He looked over, curious to what had the Soul Reaper so impressed, and had to do a double take, trying hard not to gasp.

There were two Ichigo's, one in a billowy black outfit, the other wearing what resembled a 21st century outfit. The one in black was the same Ichigo Kajin had seen before; he had a permanent scowl that could give Soron a run for his money, plus that jumbo sword. The other one had a slightly frightened, jumpy expression, and was carrying, of all things, a stuffed lion toy. They may have looked alike, but it only took Kajin seconds to spot the differences in character.

 _Care to explain that, Ember?_

The dragon huffed. **_I was going to, but you told me to shut up._**

 _I meant stop saying things that don't help, not stop talking entirely!_

Ember's offended voice was obviously staged. **_Well, how was I supposed to know that?,_** before continuing. **_Simply put, you and the other three boys here are the only ones able to see the Ichigo with the sword._**

 _Weird, but not shocking. How?_

 ** _That is only his soul. Soul Reapers are spirits, in particular, dead spirits. They don't have bodies._**

 _So why are there two of him?_

 ** _Ichigo is a special case. He is a Substitute Soul Reaper, the result of spirit energies being inserted into his body from another Soul Reaper. His spirit is dead, but his body is not, so he can still return to it. He currently has an artificial soul inhabiting his body, so that nobody has to carry it. The toy is that soul's regular body, when not in use_**. Ember stirred, and Kajin pictured his eyes narrowing. **_He is extremely powerful, and I can sense another spirit living inside him._**

 _Like an Iri?_

 _ **No, something else.**_ Ember sighed. **_Besides that we are lucky to have him on our side, I can't tell you anything else._**

 _How do you know so much about another universe?_

For a moment, Kajin's head was completely silent. _**I honestly don't know.**_

 _Great. Real helpful._

He would have commented, but he was forced to focus his attention on the confrontation when one of the aliens, an officer from the looks of him, stepped forward and said something in a language that sounded like it was meant to cut through metal.

Ben responded by just spreading his hands in front of him. The message was obvious: _I don't understand._

The officer looked extremely annoyed, for no good reason. After all, how were they expected to know gibberish? Kajin caught a glimpse of Edward trying hard not to smile, and Ichigo looked like he might join him.

The officer repeated what he said earlier, slower this time. Ben just stood there and shrugged, smiling.

Kajin decided then and there that these were his kind of people. No one else he knew could perplex a military officer as easily as Ben just did. And he was finding it just as funny as Edward and Ichigo were.

The officer gave up and said something into a device attached to his arm, and the staring contest continued.

Finally, after a good seven minutes of tense silence, a portion of the wall behind the soldiers slid up, revealing a small lift with what looked like an even higher-ranking blue skin and three guards. This officer looked much more serious than the other, and was probably dangerous, given some of the experiences Kajin had lived through.

This officer stopped just behind the line of soldiers and examined the situation, his gaze settling on Ben, before the soldiers moved back to provide the officer a way through their ranks.

When he stood about five feet from Ben, there was another moment of silence before he spoke.

"You're rather young for the Jedi to send you out here."

Kajin raised an eyebrow when he heard the officer speak in Common. But, given that this universe's structure was so close to his own, he shouldn't have been too surprised. All the higher-ups of any race knew that one language everyone agreed to speak.

Ben just smiled before replying. "Age doesn't matter. It's experience that counts."

The alien nodded. "True. May I ask who you are?"

"Jedi Knight Ben Skywalker. But you knew that already, didn't you?"

This coaxed a smile onto the officer's face. "Indeed. I imagine it's rather hard to keep your identity a secret, no matter where you go."

Ben slowly shook his head. "You have no idea."

"My name is General Prard'ras'kleoni, but you humans find it easier to call me by my core name, Drask."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "You were on the _Chaf Envoy_ for the expedition to Outbound Flight, weren't you?"

"Yes. I see your father has told you about that." Before Ben could say anything else, Drask turned sharply on his heel and barked an order at the troops behind him. They holstered their weapons and left down the corridor in perfect formation, their job done. When they were gone, Drask turned back to group of boys. "I have someone who is very interested in meeting you waiting up above. Follow me."


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, guys! Sorry if you were hoping for a story update, don't worry, I'm working on it! However, there is a question I would like to ask any Bleach-crossover fans out there, or anyone else who's interested.

I am thinking of doing a crossover with Bleach and something else, the choices of which I list below. The only reason I am not doing one for each is because I already have enough on my plate without regular (okay, maybe not regular, but constant) updates on close to ten stories now(if you have looked at my profile, you know I have novels I am posting on another site).

So, review and tell me which of these I should crossover with Bleach.

 _The Avengers_

 _Justice League_

 _Percy Jackson/Kane Chronicles_

 _Star Wars_

 _Harry Potter_

Or something I may have mentioned that I like on one of my many internet profiles.

Thanks for the help!

Also: **TITLE CHANGE!** The new one sounds so much more original, doesn't it?


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! I promise, I will use Natsu's POV in the next chapter, since I finally got an idea of how to use him. In fact, the only reason I'm not using him in this chapter is because, if you were paying any attention to the last chapter, he's still passed out. And sorry if it seems a bit Bleach-centric, but I'll be the first to admit that I have developed a less-than-healthy obsession.**

 **Reminder to please vote on the subject mentioned in the last chapter.**

 **Please review, you have no idea how motivating it is to know people want you to continue writing, no matter how few they may be.**

Ben never let his guard down as Drask led them to a turbolift farther down the hall. The general and a few others might have once worked briefly with his parents, but his parents had also told him that the Chiss only allied with someone if it served their own interests in some way. His mother had warned him, that if he ever came into contact with the Chiss Ascendancy, that you could never trust them unless you had _concrete_ evidence that they needed you alive.

Which is why he was so surprised (internally, anyway), that the whole group was still breathing.

Right before they entered the lift, Ben looked around in time for the Ichigo in black to knee his twin in the stomach, causing the twin to cough up a bluish pill, before going limp. Before Drask or anyone else noticed, the first Ichigo had somehow merged with the twin, making them one. He bent down to pick up the pill and continued like nothing happened. The whole process took three seconds.

Ichigo caught Ben watching and mouthed: _later_.

Ben got the message and focused his attention forward again. Vaguely, he remembered when Ichigo first appeared outside his cell, when Ben had asked if he was invisible or something, and Ichigo's reply: _Or something._

Whatever the case, one thing was for sure. Ichigo Kurosaki was one strange guy.

By now they were all in the lift, which started going up at a tremendous speed after Drask said something in his native language. Edward and Ichigo didn't seem to know what to think about the lift, but Kajin looked completely at home.

 _I bet the universes of those two are less advanced than ours. Ichigo did mention space travel only being a theory where he was from. But Kajin hasn't blinked an eye at any of this. Either he's got a brilliant sabacc face, or he has experience with some of the same technology._

It was mere seconds before the lift came to a stop and opened into a plain, gray room. There was no furniture, no decoration, nothing except an elderly Chiss in uniform standing by the far wall, his formerly black hair streaked with white.

Drask strode in ahead of everyone else and stood at attention outside the lift. Ben hesitantly followed, unsure of how he should act. Being a Jedi, he was expected to have some diplomatic skills, most notably interspecies interactions. But the Chiss were so distant, they had only made contact with the Galactic Alliance twice in the past sixty years. It felt awkward for him, for once, to not know what he was doing.

Thankfully, he was saved from speaking when the grizzled Chiss spoke first. "You really do take after your mother, don't you?"

Ben stood there and had to work to keep his jaw closed. "What?"

The Chiss looked sharply at his subordinate. "You didn't tell him?"

Drask managed to look slightly ashamed. Slightly.

The older alien shook his head and turned back to Ben, smiling. "I am Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano. I worked with your parents on Outbound Flight."

Ben's eyes widened in recognition. "The Chiss that came up with the plan to draw out the Vagaari, right? Aristocra Formbi?"

He chuckled. "So you do know me. I will admit, I've been waiting to meet the son of Luke and Mara Skywalker for a long time. I never imagined he would come to me."

Ben relaxed. He knew who this was. Formbi, while still rigid at times and a great believer in military rule, wasn't exactly a conventional Chiss. Mara had told him never to trust a Chiss, but she had added that if they happened to be a part of Formbi's inner circle, or Formbi himself, they were safe. This made things easier. The only problem was, while Formbi might want to help them, it was very possible that he was going against orders even meeting them, and there was only so far he could go before he had to take his law into account. He might want to help, but he'd have no choice in the matter.

Ben decided that he would at least try.

"With all due respect, why did you bring us here?" he asked, warily eyeing Drask. While Formbi seemed genuinely happy to see them, Drask had merely observed the exchange with an annoyed expression on his face. He obviously wasn't overjoyed with the meeting.

While waiting for an answer, Ben took the chance to check up on his companions. Ichigo's face was set in the scowl that Ben was realizing was his normal expression, looking largely unimpressed with the whole affair. Edward looked interested in the whole exchange, but he had an undercurrent of annoyance that was fairly common for people contemplating escape. Kajin seemed like he didn't know what to think about anything going on around him. He looked dazed but alert at the same time, if that was possible. And Natsu remained oblivious.

"Besides meeting you? I suppose I have a lot of reasons. I am curious why a Jedi is in what , to you, is unknown space. I want know how you got to Csilla. I am rather troubled that you somehow managed to escape with apparent ease. I am even more troubled by the fact that until a few minutes ago, your friend over there," he nodded in Ichigo's direction, "was in a comatose state with _zero_ brainwaves, and yet somehow he's now walking around like nothing happened." At this, Ichigo quietly sighed, like this wasn't the first time this had happened.

For Ben, however, the explanation answered several of his own questions. "So we are on Csilla? Not just some random icy planet like Hoth or Helska?"

Formbi arched one eyebrow. "You mean you have no idea where you are?"

Ben smirked. "Not until ten seconds ago, no."

"So I suppose it's meaningless to ask where your ship is." Drask said stiffly from his place by the door.

Ben just nodded. Crazy as it sounded to the Chiss, it was the truth. Then he turned back to Formbi. "To be completely honest, I'm in the dark on everything going on here." That wasn't entirely true. He knew they had only gotten out because of Ichigo. But given the fact that nobody but the four other boys could see him standing in the middle of that hall and the curious things Ben had witnessed shortly after, he didn't think that was worth mentioning.

Formbi looked lost in thought for a second before pulling a small device from his pockets. "I see. So you can honestly say you have no idea how you got here or why?"

"Basically, yes."

Formbi nodded and pressed a button on the device. A small _click_ echoed through the room, and the stun cuffs restricting Ben's powers fell from his wrists, clattering to the floor. He absentmindedly rubbed his wrists, more focused on the satisfying rush of awareness returning to his senses, fairly certain they had had ysalamiri hiding somewhere, cutting off even his empathy, that had just been moved out of range. His father had been right when he said it was like losing a limb to lose contact with the Force.

 _Actually, I can tell you from experience that losing your connection is worse than losing a limb,_ he had said, smiling and holding up his right hand, a purely mechanical prosthetic.

Formbi opened his mouth to say something, but before he even made a sound, Ben's danger sense came screaming into effect, giving him the impression of a knife held to his throat. Time around him seemed to slow as he searched frantically for the source of the sense, reaching out with his awareness. The moment he had it pinpointed, he ran for Formbi, yelling, " _Get down!",_ right before the world exploded.

Metal, rock, and ice flew everywhere as the explosion ripped through the back wall. Ben had Formbi pinned beneath him, back turned to the blowout, allowing him to witness Edward create a wall between everyone on that side of the room and the debris in a split second.

 _So that's alchemy,_ he thought.

And then he noticed the pain.

Funny things, injuries. You never really knew you had them until after the fight, when the adrenaline wears off. Ben had gone through whole battles without realizing just how much blood he was leaving on the floor. Then it would all be over, and it would feel like he was literally burning alive, and he would spend the next week in a hospital bed.

That was exactly what he was feeling now.

When things stopped blowing around and the ringing in his ears disappeared, pain lanced through his body from the multiple lacerations on his back from the torn metal. It took all his willpower not to scream every curse he knew (which was a lot, by the way), right then and there. But training won out, and he simply grunted and fell back, but not before one curse left his lips. "Fierfek."

He would yell and rage later, when he didn't have the risk of popping stitches from overexertion. To the hells with Jedi philosophy. He was still a hotheaded teenager.

Through the dull sound of his heartbeat, Ben was aware of someone yelling. Dazed, he watched Drask and some Chiss guards lift Formbi away from him and away from the scene, while someone else was crouched in front of him, saying something indecipherable. It took him a moment to recognize his name.

"Ben! Hey, Ben! Snap out of it! We've got to move!"

Someone shook him roughly out of his daze, and he saw Kajin in front of him, trying to get his attention. He shook his head, clearing the last of the fog, and saw the relief on the other boy's face. Looking around him, Ben saw Edward deconstructing his wall, Ichigo looking rather annoyed, and Natsu up and about, looking quite worked up about not getting to fight anything, also clearing up the source of Ichigo's annoyance. The Dragon Slayer was just begging to be knocked out again.

"Hey! You okay?"

Ben dragged his attention back to Kajin, who was muttering something under his breath in a language Ben had never heard before. "Huh? Oh, yeah, fine."

Kajin nodded. "Good, 'cause we found where we're going next." With that, he pointed behind Ben, who looked around to see a white "vortex", if that's what it could be called, swirling in the air a few feet away. "We don't know how, but we just saw someone Edward knows run through there. Based on Ed's reaction, I think he's one of the guys we're supposed to be chasing. So, feeling up to a bit of running?"

Ben blinked, then nodded when he felt a smile start to creep over his face. He hadn't realized just how much he missed these kinds of missions. "Let's do it."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello to anyone still reading this, and a thank you for bearing with me this far. School is finally over, which means less homework and more writing! However, notice I say less homework, not no homework. Because I insisted on taking Advanced Language Arts for my first year of high school, I have summer homework (woohoo). Of course, I still have to restrain myself from getting caught up in some of the great stories I've been finding here... and then there's drivers ed... uh-oh... (I almost destroyed the bushes in my yard with Mom's mini-van). But who wants to hear about that? Finally, it's Natsu's turn in the cycle! His point of view, compared to most characters, is certainly... different.**

 **Also, not really sure who would be interested in this, but I found a song that I feel fits the characters in this story: Monster, by Imagine Dragons. I think the lyrics are amazing.**

 **Results from the vote: You can still make suggestions, since it can take me a while sometimes to get new stories going. If nothing new comes up, however, then I will proceed with a Bleach/Avengers crossover. While the Percy Jackson/Kane Chronicles is a good suggestion (which is why I had the option on the list in the first place), I am sorry to say that I am largely disappointed with the quality of existing B/A crossovers (or maybe disgusted is a better word), so I will take it upon myself to make something readable, with a story almost everyone likes, not just a certain crowd (sorry, romance people, but I don't do that).**

 **So, anyways, enough of me. On with the story!**

* * *

Natsu was floating in a black abyss, blissfully unaware of the discussion happening in reality.

Until something blew up.

All he really registered was the presence of fire and adrenaline in the air around him, and next thing he knew, he was awake, alert, and really, _really_ hungry. To his disappointment, however, by the time he stood up, the fire had disappeared.

"Aw, come on! Did I miss the action already? I need to fight something!" And so he started ranting about his terrible misfortune to just miss the action, until someone whacked him on the back of his head. "Hey!"

Ichigo just looked down on him, thunderous scowl in place. "In case you haven't noticed, you're not the only one here! I can hear you just fine, thanks, without the constant yelling in my ear!"

Natsu crossed his arms and put his best pouting face on, but it didn't affect the Soul Reaper one bit.

"Oi, _yinas_ , not to break up your little staring match there, but we really should be leaving. Like, _before_ the portal closes?" Kajin's voice rose from where he was helping Ben up.

Ichigo sent one more warning glare at Natsu before following Edward towards the other two. Natsu scoffed and went after them.

One of Ben's arms was slung over Kajin's shoulders as they started to move towards the portal, Ichigo stopping and taking the other one, the two of them all but lifting Ben off the ground, not that he was complaining. The poor guy had skin lacerations covering his back and shoulders, plus a few on the bottom of his right leg and foot, which had apparently been exposed when he kneeled over that weird blue-skinned guy. Natsu felt a small stab of guilt at the sight of Ben's injuries, despite not knowing anything about the guy. Ben had put his life before someone else's, odd looking as they might be, whereas Natsu had thrown a fit about a lack of battle. The Jedi might fit in well with Fairy Tail.

Edward led the way, jumping through with no hesitation. The other three followed at a slower pace, with Natsu bringing up the rear.

Natsu had just been thinking about how hungry he was again, until he entered the portal. Now, confronted by dizzying, swirling colors, the sensation of being taken apart and put together again (almost like his battle with Gildarts on Tenrou Island), and odd smells reaching his sensitive nose, he was starting to rethink how hungry he was.

It felt like forever but at the same time it felt like a split second, and then they were out. Natsu found himself landing gracelessly on something hard and hot, accompanied by a shout of, "Get the _krik_ off me!"

Senses immediately on alert, Natsu leaped to his feet, fist on fire, looking for something to hit, only to find himself standing in a forest clearing. The only light came from his burning fist, a spread of stars visible above.

Looking back down, he caught sight of Kajin, who he had apparently landed on, pushing himself painfully to his feet, cursing in some obscure language.

Natsu smirked. "You okay?"

Kajin just glared back, before igniting fire of his own. Only, instead of engulfing his fist, steam-like wisps flowed from his fingers and created a fireball that floated above his palm. Natsu stared, entranced by the dancing flame and the strange scent it emitted. He felt drawn to it, and it almost seemed like his flames were leaning towards Kajin's.

"What kind of magic is that?" Natsu asked, finally dragging his eyes from the flame.

Kajin snorted. "Not magic. Just fire. In my universe, when you bond with an Iri, you gain control of an elemental power." He tilted his head for a moment, looking lost in thought. "Although, I guess I'm kind of different. Most Azkiar have to carry around a bit of their element to use it. Me and a few others have the ability to create the element whenever we want. Mine is fire."

Natsu nodded, but Kajin's explanation left him with more questions. What were Iri? Who were these others who could create elements out of thin air?

Any further musing was interrupted by the sound of something crashing through the brush surrounding the clearing. Natsu immediately went on alert, igniting both fists, while Kajin reached his non-flame producing hand into his jacket and pulled out a small gun, red eyes never straying from the direction of the sound.

The brush rustled again, and a small whine could be heard coming from Kajin's gun as he held it extended in front of him, finger brushing the trigger.

Then, just when Natsu couldn't stand the suspense any longer, two boys fell out of the brush, limbs tangled together, one with unmistakable orange hair and the other in an equally familiar red coat.

"Hey! Get off!"

"No, you get off!"

"Listen here, pipsqueak-"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PINT-SIZED MIDGET WHO'S SO SHOR-"

"That's not what he said."

This last comment came from Ben, who was leaning heavily on a tree behind Ichigo and Ed, also the only person there that wasn't on edge. Looking up from the chaos at his feet, his eyes widened fractionally at the sight of a gun barrel pointed in his direction and three separate fireballs ready to launch. "Whoa there! Friendly! We're on the same team, remember?"

Natsu extinguished his flames, feeling much more at ease. Kajin seemed a bit hesitant, but put his gun away, keeping his fireball out as a source of light.

Ed and Ichigo finally managed to untangle themselves, glaring at each other the whole time, when Ben seemed to remember he was injured and slowly started to slide to the ground in exhaustion before Kajin caught him and lowered him the rest of the way, doing his best to avoid touching the lacerations on his back. Up close, Natsu could see just how tired Ben was, from his heavy breathing to the layer of sweat covering his face and neck. At least most of the bleeding had stopped, but he needed medical treatment soon.

Once Ben was settled, everyone except Ichigo let themselves fall to the ground, somewhat overwhelmed by the realization that they had just traversed dimensions.

"So where the hell are we now?" Ichigo asked, arms crossed over his chest as he surveyed the edges of the clearing, before seeming to reach a decision and joining them on the ground.

Ed didn't move from his spread-eagled position as he raised his hand. "If what I'm feeling is right, I think it's safe to say we landed in my universe. Where, exactly, I don't know, but it definitely feels like home."

Ben raised his head slightly from his slouched posture. "Hang on. When we were on Csilla, everything felt normal to me, like it could just be any mission I might have been assigned to. But ever since we got here..."

"You've been feeling out of place?" Kajin asked, finishing his sentence. Then he looked at everyone else. "I've been wondering about that. Ever since this whole thing started, I've been feeling like I don't belong, that I shouldn't exist. If I had to guess, I would say that we're anomalies in other universes. By leaving our original dimension, we've violated the boundaries." He looked at Ed. "If you feel ordinary, like you've come home, I think it's safe to say this is your universe, unless anyone else has a similar feeling." He looked around, silently asking if anyone disagreed. When no one did, he smiled, satisfied that his theory had been accepted.

They lapsed into silence again, taking the chance to catch their breath before they had to move again. Natsu found his gaze being drawn back to Kajin, who was absentmindedly twirling a fireball around his fingers, lost in thought. The other boy perplexed him, more than the others. Ed seemed pretty normal, besides having less-than-average height and a particularly metallic scent. Ben was even more average, his only obvious oddity being unusually calm and levelheaded. Natsu was cautious of Ichigo. The Soul Reaper practically reeked of death and animalistic instinct, leaving Natsu with the constant sensation of having a dangerous predator following him, which was new, considering that he was used to being at the top of the food chain.

But Kajin stood out.

He only smelled of fire and ash, with only a small trace of human. His red eyes were unnatural. And for an instant, Natsu had thought he saw a tattoo of a strange symbol on his collarbone, underneath his jacket. His fire was more primal than any Natsu had ever encountered before, even that Fire God Slayer he took out before the seven year gap. But what really got to him was how much Kajin reminded Natsu of Igneel.

Not his personality, though that was just as unique in it's own way. It was his aura. Something about it reminded him of a dragon.

Natsu was brought out of his musing by Ed sitting up with a sigh. "Well, we aren't going to accomplish anything by sitting around here."

No sooner had he said it that the group found themselves surrounded by a group of thirteen cloaked figures, melting out of the shadows. One of the men stepped forward, face shadowed by his hood. "No, you won't. But you made the mistake of venturing into our land, so you won't be accomplishing anything in the near future."

All five of them jumped up, ready to fight, especially Natsu. He had gone too long without a fight, and the last thing any of them wanted was to end up as prisoners again.

Ed walked towards the assumed leader, tensed but unafraid. The others let him. It was his world, he knew best how things worked here. "Just curious, but would you happen to know what country we're in?"

One of the thugs sneered. "Amestris, where else? You got a screw loose?"

Ed just nodded and ignored the insult. "And what part of Amestris might we be in?"

The same guy looked slightly taken aback before answering. "East. Why-"

The leader held up his hand, halting whatever the man was going to say. "You mean to tell us you have no idea where you are?"

Ed just smiled and crossed his arms. "Nope, no clue!"

The thugs were starting to look either very annoyed or very confused, if not a mixture of both. Ed kept smiling and reached into his pocket, pulling out a silver pocket watch engraved with a serpent-like design. "You said Amestris, right? So I would hope you know what this means."

Several of the thugs stepped back, muttering among themselves. Obviously, the pocket watch meant something if it was getting these guys so riled up. The leader seemed to think for a second, before taking another step forward and lowering his hood, revealing dark skin, white hair, and red eyes. Not flame-red like Kajin's. Natsu thought the color looked closer to blood.

"So, a young man with a red coat who happens to be carrying around the symbol of a dog of the military." He said. "What are the odds that your right arm and left leg are automail?" He narrowed his eyes. "Though, given recent developments, I understand your arm has been returned to you. Right, _Fullmetal_?"

At this point, Natsu had no idea what was going on, and judging by the expressions on everyone else's faces, they didn't, either. But Ed's smile just grew bigger. "Yeah, that's me alright."


End file.
